Hou Quan (Monkey Kung Fu)
猴拳Collective name for Chinese monkey styles, attested by Qi Jiguang in the 16th century. Best described is the Hong Kong school Dasheng pigua men, Emei hou quan is part of the Emei wushu item.
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About Hou Quan (Monkey Kung Fu)
Hou quan, the monkey fist, is a collective name for several Chinese systems that imitate the movement and behaviour of a monkey. The name is old: General Qi Jiguang lists hou quan among the fist systems of his time in the manual Jixiao xinshu from around 1561, and according to the encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (ABC-CLIO, 2001), visitors to the Shaolin Monastery noted in the 16th century that some monks practised monkey boxing. The same encyclopedia recalls the story of the maiden of Yue from the 5th century BC, in which an old man turns into a monkey, and the monkey with a staff from the novel Journey to the West.
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Hou quan is not listed independently on China's national list of intangible heritage, while Emei hou quan is mentioned in the description of the Emei wushu item (VI-23, inscribed 2008, city of Emeishan in Sichuan) as one of eighteen families of Emei fist styles. The monkey is also one of the twelve animal forms of xingyiquan and of the ten forms of xinyi liuhe quan, but not among the five animals of Hongquan (dragon, tiger, leopard, snake, crane). The best described independent school is Dasheng pigua men from Hong Kong. By the school's own account it was founded by Geng Dehai (1892 to 1970), a native of Beijing, who learned pigua from his father and the monkey fist dasheng men from Kou Si of Shaanxi, combined the two in the early republic, was among the five masters invited to Canton in 1929, and left for Hong Kong. By the same account Kou Si was to have created five monkey forms in prison by watching monkeys: the standing, stone, confused, wooden and drunken monkey. The ABC-CLIO encyclopedia gives a similar tradition about the prisoner Gou Zi, and it is a legend. Hou quan is not a competition discipline of wushu, the IWUF rules know only changquan, nanquan and taijiquan, and at the world kung-fu championships it falls at most under the category of imitative styles.
History
Hou quan is one of the oldest documented names of Chinese fist systems. General Qi Jiguang names it in his manual Jixiao xinshu from around 1561, alongside the 32 postures of Emperor Song Taizu's long fist and the six-step fist. Stanley Henning adds in the encyclopedia Martial Arts of the World (ABC-CLIO, 2001) that Wang Shixing (1547 to 1598) was taken with a monkey-style boxer he saw practising at the Shaolin Monastery, and that visitors to the monastery in the 16th century noted that some monks practised folk fist forms including monkey boxing, though none of them bore the monastery's name. Henning considers the most important old reference to a monkey in martial arts to be the story of the maiden of Yue from around 465 BC, in which an old man turns into a monkey and tests her swordsmanship. The monkey with a magic staff from the 16th-century novel Journey to the West is linked with fighting to this day.
Read more
Hou quan is not listed independently on China's national list of intangible heritage, a search of the whole list did not find it. Emei hou quan is mentioned in the description of the Emei wushu item (VI-23, second batch of 2008, applicant the city of Emeishan in Sichuan, holder the Emeishan Sports Federation) as one of eighteen families of Emei fist styles. The Hong Kong school Dasheng pigua men traces its origin, by its own account, to Geng Dehai (1892 to 1970), a native of Beijing, who learned pigua from his father Geng Ronggui and the monkey fist dasheng men from Kou Si of Shaanxi, combined the two traditions in the early republic, in 1929 was said to be among the five masters invited to Canton to the Liangguang guoshuguan, and in 1930 left for Hong Kong. Only the English Wikipedia gives 1911 as the origin of dasheng men.
How it differs
Under the name monkey fist stand at least two different traditions: the Hong Kong school Dasheng pigua men, with its own lineage from Kou Si and Geng Dehai, and Emei hou quan, one of eighteen families of Emei fist styles on the national list. The two share only the name. The monkey is also one of the animal forms inside other styles: according to the description of the national item Xingyiquan (VI-26), it is among the twelve animal forms alongside the dragon, tiger, horse, chicken, swallow, hawk, snake, eagle, bear and others, and according to the item Xinyi liuhe quan (VI-29) among ten animals. Henning gives twelve animals for Shanxi xingyi and ten for Henan, and the monkey is in both. The monkey is not among the five animals of Hongquan, the dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane.
Technique
The technical description in sources of national-list level or in studies is scant. The description of the Emei wushu item names Emei hou quan only as one of eighteen families of fist styles, alongside Emei luohan quan and others. The Dasheng pigua men school states that Kou Si created five monkey forms: the standing (qi hou), stone (shi hou), confused (mi hou), wooden (mu hou) and drunken monkey (zui hou). This is the school's claim, and the English Wikipedia gives a lost monkey instead of the confused one. The monkey principle also appears inside other styles: the national item Sun Bin quan (VI-60, 2011) asks in its fist rule that the practitioner be quick in movement like a naughty monkey and have shoulders relaxed like a gibbon.
Today
Hou quan is not a competition discipline of international wushu. The IWUF rules for wushu taolu from 2019 list only changquan, nanquan and taijiquan as free bare-hand disciplines, and the regulations of the 8th IWUF World Kung-fu Championship (Emeishan, 14 to 19 June 2019) place among traditional styles xingyi, bagua, baji, ditang, chaquan, hongquan, Shaolin, Wudang and Emei quan and a general category of imitative styles, with no separate hou quan on the list. The Hong Kong Dasheng pigua men association was founded, by its own description, in 1970 under Chen Xiuzhong (1936 to 2020), who from 1954 was allowed as the only student to teach in the name of Geng Dehai. Emei wushu as a whole comprises, according to the national list, 68 schools and 2 638 methods, and these figures do not concern hou quan alone.
Did you know
The prison origin story of the monkey fist has several forms: the Dasheng pigua men school tells it of Kou Si, who watched monkeys from his cell. The ABC-CLIO encyclopedia has a similar tradition about a prisoner named Gou Zi, who created monkey boxing after months watching monkeys outside his window, and adds that the name probably refers to Shandong dances where the Monkey King's spirit possessed dancers. The Monkey King of Journey to the West carries a magic staff, linked with fighting to this day according to Henning.
Frequently asked questions
Is hou quan on China's national list of intangible heritage?
Not as a separate style. Emei hou quan is mentioned in the description of the Emei wushu item (VI-23, 2008) as one of eighteen families of Emei fist styles.
Is monkey fist a wushu competition discipline?
No. The IWUF rules recognise only changquan, nanquan and taijiquan as free bare-hand disciplines, and at the world kung-fu championships monkey boxing falls at most under the category of imitative styles.
How old is monkey boxing in China?
General Qi Jiguang gives the name hou quan in Jixiao xinshu from around 1561, and according to the ABC-CLIO encyclopedia some monks of the Shaolin Monastery practised it in the 16th century.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.